Evander Kane flew from Buffalo to San Jose where he landed at 3:00am eastern standard time. Future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton greeted Kane at the airport and gave the sniper a rode to his hotel.
Kane's first official morning at work for the San Jose Sharks was like old home week.
Kane spoke with his new head coach Pete DeBoer for whom he'd played at the IIHF World Championships for Team Canada. Sharks assistant coach Steve Spott once coached Kane at a U-17 tourney for Team Canada. Kane played for assistant coach Dave Barr, who ran the forwards in Kane's first season in Buffalo three years ago. As a matter of fact, Kane tapped the pads of San Jose goaltending coach Johan Hedberg. Kane and Hedberg were teammates on the Atlanta Thrashers many a moon ago.
The final chat was with captain Joe Pavelski, who played with Kane and Nashville Preds goalie Pekka Rinne for Dynamo Minsk of the KHL during the 2013 NHL lockout.
Kane has never played in an NHL playoff game and is relishing the opportunity to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup.
At his first skate, Kane worked on the first line with Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi. Pete DeBoer isn't wasting any time. The Sharks are never satisfied. They want to keep stacking points.
DeBoer raved about Kane's size, speed, skill, physicality. Kane on the top line, PP and PK.
DeBoer said Kane is a rare power forward, the type you can count on one hand in today's NHL. The Sharks enter tonight's game with Edmonton ranked 25th in the NHl in even strength goal scoring. Kane's forte is scoring at 5v5.
"We're going to play him as much as he can handle", DeBoer said of Kane.
Kane skated 19:23 TOI in his 61 games in Buffalo.
Kane seemingly feels like a kid in a candy store. On Tuesday, he was a healthy scratch on the worst team in the Eastern Conference. On Wednesday he was the #1 left winger on a legit Stanley Cup contending team. In his nine seasons in the NHL, Kane has never played in a Stanley Cup playoff game. That will change in April. For now, Kane is focused on helping the Sharks slay the fire breathing dragons of the West.
"It’s just nice to play some meaningful hockey,” Kane said. “Every game is very important, every point is very important. I’m looking forward to tonight and moving forward here, playing some playoff-style hockey down the stretch to be able to get into the playoffs.”
Thanks, Sharks TV
When I first learned of the Kane trade to the Bay area, my mind on rewind went back a decade in team to February 26, 2008. That was the exact date that the Sharks traded a first round pick and Steve Bernier to the Sabres for a rental defenseman. The forst round pick became fan favorite Tyler Ennis, who was traded to Minnesota with Marcus Foligno last June for Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella.
"Soupy"Campbell went on to score 26 points in his 33 games with the Sharks in 2008.
Campbell's impressive audition with the Sharks made him an extremely wealth man. On July 1, 2008, Campbell shocked the Shars when signed a gargantuan eight year, $57,143,000 contract with an average annual value of $7,142,875 to play for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Those are the same types of dollars that Kane is looking to achieve in his next contract.
Kane, 26, will be UFA on July 1.
Kane already has nine years of NHL ervice in the bank and he has not yet hit his prime years. The Sharks are banking on Kane to inspire them to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Sabres fans are hoping and praying that Kane is a long term solution for Doug Wilson and the Sharks because unlike in the Campbell trade, there are condistions on the draft choices Buffalo received in exchange for Kane.
Kane must re-sign with the Sharks as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, or, win the Stanley Cup. If/when one or both occur, Buffalo will receive San Jose's first round pick in 2019. However, if Kane pulls a "Soupy" and skates off to another NHL city for fat stacks of jack and a Stanley Cups victory, then the 2019 pick becomes a second round selection.
As Kane learned on Monday, nothing in the NHL is guaranteed. He now has some serious skin in this game. He was traded for a package fo assets that wasn't comensurate with his market value. Now it's time for Kane to use that as additional fuel for the fire.
Lately, there have been conditions placed on compensation for Kane.
His reputation precedes him. It would do him a world of good from a PR and financial standpoint to swim through shark infested waters for his new teammates, coaches and management. Kane is looking for a seven year contract extension at the end of his audition in San Jose. Be it from the Sharks or other Western powerhouses. Problem being, at what average annnual value will he be compensated? Kane is one of the elite even strength goal scorers in the NHL today. But he carries with him off ice designer baggege to NoCal. However, he's a 20 goal scorer and can easily score 30+ goalas this season on a stacked team like the Sharks. Kane can change the narrative be helping the Sharks win their first Stanley Cup in the 27 year history of the franchise.
For the first time is a long time, Kane has some heavy lifting to do.
New city. New fans. New teammates. New expectations. New contract.
I hope Connor McDavid has his chin strap snapped up tonight because Kane is going to be shot out of a cannon. Kane has 19 games to show 29 other NHL GMs that he is better than the conditional picks he was eventually traded for. If I'm a betting man, I'm laying money on Kane to shut the mouths of his biggest detractors and critics. Evander is no shrinking violet. He will rise to this challenge and will perform at an elite level. He needs his Sharks teammates and coaches just as badly as they need him. The warm welcome shown to him by Pavelski, DeBoer, Spott, Barr, Hedberg, and Thornton is a reminder that he is welcome in San Jose. When no other NHL GM wanted him, Doug Wilson did. Covering Kane for the past three seasons taught me that Evander Kane is aware of his surroundings and is eager to shut the mouths of his critics.
Winning changes everything.
This Kane trade has Sabres fans, management and owners hip saying:
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Just stay and play in the city by the bay. Okay?
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